Police Said Protesters Were 'Targeting Addresses' Linked to Asylum Seekers'

Norfolk's police chief Paul Sanford said some protesters were “targeting addresses” they believed were housing asylum seekers and that had officers not intervened, it was “highly likely” they would have broken into the properties. It comes after three consecutive nights of violence in the market town, which has seen windows smashed and fences broken as crowds of people attempted to break into properties believed to be linked to asylum seekers. Two people were arrested on Thursday night, bringing the total number of arrests across the three nights to five.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, chief constable Sanford said his officers had been required to move residents of the properties away “for their safety”. We did have people protesting in the Thetford area who were targeting addresses they believed were housing asylum seekers and on a couple of occasions that required us to escort the residents of those properties away for their safety, he said.